Bariatric Surgery: Define Your Barriers to Success

Bill lost roughly half his body weight after bariatric surgery and lifestyle changes.

On his blog WHS-NewLife, Bill Streetman explores the barriers for living a healthy lifestyle after gastric bypass weight loss surgery. He looked within himself to find what does and does not motivate and discovered his four greatest barriers that could prevent weight loss success with gastric bypass.

The four points discovered were conflicting priorities, dishonesty, poor planning and implementation, and recklessness and sabotage. He worked to create an environment where his lifestyle changes would be easier to attain. He made himself the project and defined a goal and a plan to achieve that goal.

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Bill developed the Four Strategies, which we discussed in part 1 of this interview. Now we explore how they helped him in real life to overcome barriers and achieve weight loss success with gastric bypass.

My Bariatric Life: Strategy #1 is about prioritization, specifically putting yourself first. How did you do this and how has it helped you with weight loss?

Bill: As I identified conflicting priorities, I worked to resolve them. The best example is the conflict I had between Healthy Me and Work Me. Weekend after weekend I found myself sitting at my desk on a Saturday afternoon knowing I would be back in my office Sunday. I'd say to myself, "I need to start taking care of myself," yet I was growing more and more overweight. I resolved this conflict when I decided my health was more important than my business. That decision resulted in me selling my share of the business. I limit my work hours to a normal work week and have plenty of time to exercise, plan for my nutritional needs and prepare healthy meals.

MBL: Strategy #2 is about brutal honesty with yourself and others. How did you go about that and why did it make it easier for you to lose weight?

Bill: I learned to tell everyone everything about my surgery, my recovery, the highs and lows, the good and the bad, the ugly and the uglier. I told all of the details openly and honestly. Get to telling your story over and over. Tell it honestly and without any agenda. You've got a lot of lies and half-truths from when you were fat to balance out.

MBL: You mandate developing a pre and post-surgery diet and exercise plan in Strategy #3. How did you develop such a plan?

Bill: I had been through a hospital supervised diet and nutrition program and learned about the caloric content of carbohydrates, protein and fat. I learned that at the most basic level, weight loss utilized math that I had learned in first grade. Using online resources, I created a simple spreadsheet. Daily meals were designed to provide my nutritional needs. The key to regular exercise for me is options. I made a list of all the activities I've enjoyed and a few I'd like to try. I planned and made a lot of adjustments as I got in better and better shape.

MBL: You adddress that we often sabotage our own weight loss in Strategy #4. How did you develop self-control around food?

Bill: To develop self control I did the following:

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1. Studied Tai Chi

2. Decided not to learn my limits but instead to eat for fuel rather than pleasure

3. Plan in advance for how to deal with triggers, binge situations and special occasions

To learn more about Bill and his 4 Strategies for weight loss success, please visit his blog at WLS-NewLife.